On Mar 27, 2007, at 6:11 PM, Scott Fybush wrote: > But they've got nothing on this crowd when it comes to turning over > every possible rock to find the gloomiest possible way to reframe any > discussion of what might - or might not - happen.
Scott, You have a dog in the fight. Nothing super wrong with the corporation you work for, its just another big corporation just like the one I work for, but mine isn't in radio. If I worked for that corporation I would try to put lipstick on the IBOC pig also. I don't blame you for not trying to put an upbeat face on this IBOC discussion one bit. You know I have an IBOC radio and am waiting until night service to see if the dog will hunt. I don't know if it will succeed or not. So far, da system gots a buncha warts. Unless these things are overcome soon, then IBOC may end up DOA. 1. You have to have external antennas with your radio. I can only imagine the disgust the common Joe and Jane Blow will have when they see they have to have an external antenna to get a station. On AM there can't be a ferrite bar antenna in the radio, at least in all the models sold today, because of all the computer chip hash inside. And for AM where the sound quality increase is the best, Sangean says you have to keep your antenna at least 50cm - half a yard, away from your receiver to get away from internal interference. 2. If they can not make the IBOC radios small and portable, with an MP3 player/recorder that will run for 48 hours on 2 AA batteries they are sunk. People are used to transistor radios that will fit in your pocket since 1955 and there are no portable IBOC receivers. 3. If they don't do something innovative with the programming, they are definitely DOA. Its extremely hard to compete with an iPod that has exactly what you want to hear on it and satellite with 200 channels of some of the best niche programming every heard. 4. Interference to foreign nations stations. 5. Interference to existing stations and law suits that stem from the interference and the high costs of litigation. 6. Power consumption of the IBOC decode and DSP chips. Its gonna take one hell of a battery to get the life that batteries get with analog sets. I suspect that DX may be difficult, especially until hybrid mode is gone but there is no way of telling until they go 24/7 and we shall see soon enough. If it is like HDTV, the signal will be perfect many many miles from the station via groundwave but getting skywave skip will be exceptionally unusual. We who are not in the radio business can be upset, as I am about all this, but until the latest ruling hits the Federal Register, we have no idea how this is all going to work. The sky may or may not fall but we are about to find out what will happen quite shortly. For those who don't have an HD Radio, better do a lot of DXing just in case this all blows up. Kevin _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com